The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Mr James Klutse Avedzi has said he disagrees with the comment of Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame that the publication of the audit report into Covid expenditure was unconstitutional.
He said the laws that established the Auditor-General’s office mandate the officer to audit reports and publish them.
“I disagree completely with the Attorney General. The question I ask is, why this Covid 19 report for which he is asking the Auditor General to unpublish it? Why didn’t he do the same to the previous reports, the normal MDA reports, the assemblies report, all those things as soon as the Auditor General submits to Parliament he publishes them so why is he saying this one they should unpublish?
“The Constitution was very clear in Article 187, it established the Auditor General and office of the Auditor General. Article 187(2) says that the Auditor General shall audit the public accounts of Ghana and these public accounts of Ghana cover all departments, agencies, ministries, public boards, corporations, courts, universities, and district assemblies, all of them. So so this Clause 2 of 187 mandates AG to audit all these accounts,” he told TV3’s Komla Klutse on Thursday.
Mr Dame has written against the decision by the Auditor-General to publish the report on Covid expenditure.
Per Article 187(5) of the Constitution, Mr Dame explained, the Auditor-General is mandated to submit his report to Parliament to draw attention to any irregularities in the accounts audited.
The Auditor-General report stated that “During our review, we noted that senior management staff and other supporting staff of the Ministry of Information paid themselves a total amount of GH¢151,500.00 as COVID-19 risk allowance for coming to work during the lockdown.”
It further indicated that the Ministry of Health (MoH) entered a contract signed on 15 December 2021 for the supply of 26 Toyota Hiace Deluxe Ambulances valued at US$4,049,460.12 out of which US$607,419.02 was paid to vide PV No. IPF 22-007 of 2 September 2022 is to be delivered by 15 January 2022.
However, the report said, the ambulances remained undelivered as of 28 November 2022.
But the Attorney General in his letter said ” “I observe that the report of the special audit on the Government’s COVID-19 transactions has been published on the website of the Audit Service. In light of the constitutional provisions pertaining to the duty of the Auditor-General after the preparation of audit reports, I consider a publication of the COVID-19 audit report or indeed any audit report particularly when the same has not been either considered by Parliament or referred to a committee of Parliament, premature.”
Below is the full letter by the Attorney General
RE: AUDIT OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF GHANA
I refer to various discussions between your good self and me regarding the effective implementation of reports of the Auditor-General on audits into the public accounts of Ghana, particularly with regard to the issuance of disallowances and surcharges.
The matters discussed have become more pertinent in view of the intense controversy generated by the publication of the report on the special audit of the Government of Ghana’s Covid-19 transactions for the period March 2020 to June 2022 on the website of the Ghana Audit Service http://www.audit.gov.gh.
I find it compelling to lay out a few points which I hope will guide action to be taken after the preparation of your reports.
1. Article 187(5) of the Constitution mandates the Auditor-General to submit his report to Parliament and in that report, draw attention to any irregularities in the accounts audited. Section 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) clearly indicates that reports on special audits and reviews, as the one conducted in respect of the COVID-19 transactions, are subject to the requirement for the Auditor-General to submit the reports to Parliament.
2. Article 187(6) of the Constitution requires Parliament to debate the report of the Auditor-General and appoint, where necessary and in the public interest, a committee to deal with any matters arising from it. This is repeated in section 21 of Act 584. Over the years, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) seems to be the committee designated by Parliament to interrogate issues arising out of the Auditor-General’s reports. It is only after satisfying the constitutional requirement of submitting the auditor general’s report to Parliament, the subsequent debate by
Parliament thereon and conclusion of work by the appropriate committee of Parliament, that the report of the Auditor-General may be considered final and relevant action may be taken thereon.
3. I observe that the report of the special audit on the Government’s COVID-19 transactions has been published on the website of the Audit Service. In light of the constitutional provisions pertaining to the duty of the Auditor-General after the preparation of audit reports, I consider a publication of the COVID-19 audit report or indeed any audit report particularly when same has not been either considered by Parliament or referred to a committee of Parliament, premature.
4. I am mindful of the provision in section 23 of Act 584 which seems to mandate a publication of the reports as soon as they have been presented to the Speaker to be laid before Parliament. However, the laws governing the functions of the Auditor-General ought to be construed as a whole. The constitutional duty of the Auditor-General to submit his reports to Parliament and Parliament’s consequential obligation to debate and scrutinise same, will be grossly prejudiced by a prior publication of the report.
The proceedings of the PAC provide an opportunity for irregularities raised by the Auditor-General to be interrogated and queried. Persons and institutions affected by the report receive a further hearing on the findings of the Auditor-General’s reports at the proceedings of the PAC in Parliament. A prior publication of the Auditor-General’s report completely undermines the purport and meaning of article 187(5) and (6) and should not be encouraged. Consequently, I advise a withdrawal of the report on the Government COVID-19 transactions from your website before same has been debated by Parliament and considered by the appropriate committee of Parliament.
5. Further, as pointed out in previous letters by the Attorney-General to your office over the years, there has been a glaring omission to indicate in the notices served on the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, satisfaction by the Auditor-General of the mandatory procedure enjoined by section 17 of Act 584, in order to be able to execute a disallowance and surcharge.
6. As you would recall, I have, in previous communication with you, indicated that in accordance with section 17 of Act 584, certain steps ought to be complied with by the Audit Service after an audit report has been subjected to the scrutiny of the PAC. These steps border on the issuance of disallowances and surcharges by the Auditor-General.
i. the relevant head of department or institution to whom the amounts stated in the notice of surcharge or disallowance are due, must be notified of the surcharge or disallowance, the reasons for the surcharge or disallowance as well as when this was done. Please see section 17(1) of Act 584
(ii) notices served on the Attorney-General must indicate whether the affected individuals and institutions have been served with the notice of surcharge or disallowance and, if so, when this was done. Please see section 17(2) of Act 584.
iii. Information confirming compliance with the statutory steps and when same was done is crucial for the
Attorney-General to institute legal action against specified defaulters.
7. By letters dated 21st December 2017, 14th December 2018 and 21st January 2019, the Attorney-General informed the then Auditor-General about lapses in the notices of disallowance and surcharge served on the Attorney-General in order for him to remedy same. Unfortunately, to date, some have not been remedied.
8. It is only through due process, particularly the observance of the processes stated above, that we can realise the true import and effect of article 187 of the Constitution. There ought to be enhanced cooperation between the Audit Service and the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice. These two institutions are at the forefront of the quest for public accountability, probity, the rule of law and the rooting out of corruption and malpractices in Ghana, and therefore are left with no option but to collaborate. In this regard, I have set up a special team in my Ministry, jointly headed by the Solicitor-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, specifically charged with coordinating with your outfit in order to promptly act, in accordance with law, on established irregularities contained in the Auditor-General’s reports.
I would appreciate if you could set up a similar team to work with my office. Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.
By Laud Nartey/3news.com/Ghana